A shot fired in the direction of law enforcement officers shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday was thought to be the unintended result of an apparent suicide.
Undersheriff Bryan Murphy said he, deputy Daren Kellerman and David Ingle, an Iola police officer, were checking on the welfare of Mark Ard, 39, when a rifle bullet came close to them at a farmstead along Florida Road between 3600 and 3800 streets.
Ard later was found in a thicket, dead of a head wound. An assault-type rifle was found next to the body.
Murphy said officers were looking for Ard after family members asked for a welfare check.
“We heard one shot and then a second, when a bullet came near us,” Murphy said.
As a precaution, other officers were called to assist, including Kansas Highway Patrol troopers trained to deal with situations involving firearms.
In retrospect, Murphy said he thought the second shot was fired from the semi-automatic rifle as it was falling to the ground.
The search for Ard started after his pickup truck was spotted at the farm. Murphy said no note explaining what occurred was found.
